Pale Rider Page #3

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We'd have them tailor-made.

Then he'd start thinking

about those Sunday collections.

Hell, in a town as rich as LaHood,

that preacher'd be a wealthy man.

That's why it wouldn't work.

Can't serve God and mammon both.

Mammon being money.

I opened this country.

I made this town what it is.

I brought jobs and industry.

I built an empire with my own two hands.

And I've never asked help of anyone.

Those squatters, Reverend,

are standing in the way of progress.

Theirs or yours?

Here, look. Just look at that writ!

Comes hot from Sacramento, giving me

mineral rights to the whole canyon.

That hardly seems likely. If you had

those rights, you'd have exercised them.

No, those people have legal claims.

You can't mine there till they leave.

Damn it! You read that writ!

If it was worth the paper it's on,

you wouldn't be trying to bribe me.

What's your business

with those tin pans, Reverend?

Nothing. They're just friends.

You and your friends got 24 hours

to pack up and leave...

...or my men will ride through that canyon

and run you out!

I've been a law-abiding man,

but now I'm out of patience.

And any blood that gets spilled

will be on your hands.

You're a troublemaker, stranger.

You spell bad cess in letters

that stretch from here to Seattle.

Thanks for the drink.

Now, I've reasoned and I've bargained

with you and I've come up short.

But what's mine is mine,

and if you make me fight for it, I will.

There is a man, a marshal.

He keeps the peace, if you take

my meaning. His name is Stockburn.

And he won't be as patient as me.

These people in Carbon Canyon,

would you pay cash for their claims?

Buy them out?

I'd do anything to prevent bloodshed.

How about $100 a head?

How about $1,000?

I'll tell you what: I'll go up to $125.

Stockburn and his deputies

will cost you a lot more than that.

How would you know?

How much is it worth

to have a clear conscience?

$1,000 per claim then.

But I want them out of here in 24 hours!

I paid him off in full. I even have enough

to pay off Sparters.

Where is he?

In there.

Well, do something, Hull!

What were you doing in there?

LaHood was buying me a drink.

Thanks for the thought.

So we all vote in favor?

Speak up! All those in favor?

Are any opposed?

Me and LaHood's seen a lot of ground

together, starting back in '55.

He may be greedy, but he ain't no fool.

If he offers $1,000 a claim,

it's because it's worth five times that.

The way LaHood works, maybe.

The way we work...

...we're lucky to see $1,000 a year.

I say we take his offer.

Suppose you struck a thousand bucks

in nuggets.

Would you quit and blow town?

Or keep digging?

What do you say, Preacher?

What I say doesn't matter.

It's your sweat he's buying.

Why don't you sleep on it,

make the decision in the morning?

What if we don't decide in the morning?

What happens if we can't decide?

Then I suppose LaHood'll take that as no.

Then what?

He said he'd call in a marshal.

What kind of a threat is that?

We have nothing to fear from the law.

This is no ordinary kind of marshal.

His name is Stockburn.

He travels with six deputies.

And they uphold whatever law

pays them the most.

Killing is a way of life with them.

I'm telling you this...

...because if you decide against

LaHood's offer, you'll meet him.

You know this Stockburn?

I've heard of him.

We all know what we're up against.

He ain't just saying, "Take my offer."

He's saying, "Take it or else."

We're family men.

We're no match for seven guns.

Yeah, but how many of us are there?

Twenty?

I heard the preacher.

I know these men are professionals.

But it's still twenty against seven, ain't it?

And we know how to pull

a damn trigger, don't we?

If it comes down to it,

I'll fight before I'll quit my claim...

...but, damn it, LaHood's offer's fair.

I still vote we take his money

and we start afresh elsewhere.

Starting fresh sounds good

when you're in trouble...

...but before we vote to pack up

and leave...

...I think we should ask why we're here.

If it's no more than money,

then we're no better than LaHood himself.

Spider here asked a question.

If any of us turned up $1,000 worth

of nuggets, would he quit? Hell, no!

He'd build his family a better house...

...and buy his kids better clothes...

...maybe build a school...

...or a church.

If we were farmers, we'd be planting crops.

If we raised cattle, we'd tend them.

But we're miners...

...so we dig and pan...

...and break our backs for gold.

But gold ain't what we're about.

It ain't what I'm about.

I came out here to raise a family.

This is my home.

This is my dream. I've sunk roots here.

And we all have buried members

of our families in this ground.

And this is their dream, too,

and they died for it.

Now we're going to take $1,000

and leave their graves untended?

We owe them more than that.

We owe ourselves more.

If we sell out now...

...what price do we put

on our dignity next time?

$2,000?

Less?

Or just the best offer?

I say to hell with LaHood!

I ain't a brave man,

but I ain't no coward neither.

We took our chances this far.

I vote we keep it up.

To hell with LaHood!

Let them come!

We're ready!

I buried my dog over here.

That's hallowed ground then.

I said a prayer for her.

It was after the raid.

I prayed for a miracle.

Maybe someday you'll get that miracle.

It was the day you arrived.

I think I love you.

There's nothing wrong with that.

If there was more love in the world...

...there'd probably be a lot less dying.

Then there can't be anything wrong

with making love either.

I think it's best just to...

...practice loving before you think

about the other.

If I practice just loving for a while,

will you teach me the other?

Megan, most folks around...

...kind of associate that with marriage.

I'll be fifteen next month.

Mama was married when she was fifteen.

Will you teach me then?

Ninety-nine out of 100 men would be proud

to say yes to that.

But a young girl, a young woman like you...

...you wouldn't want to spend your future

on me.

Why not?

That's just the way it is.

I don't understand.

I don't believe you.

I don't want to believe you.

Whatever you're saying isn't true.

It isn't fair.

Come on now.

That's no way to pass the test.

Test?

Trust.

If you love someone...

...you got to try...

...to trust what they tell you is true.

Even if it means we can't be together?

Someday a young man's going

to come along. The right man.

And then none of this will matter anymore.

If I was your mom,

I'd be worried about where you are.

It's my mama you love, isn't it?

Your mama's a fine woman.

And so are you.

The way you look at her

and the way she looks at you....

It's true. I don't care! You can have her!

I never want to see you again!

I hope you die and I hope you go to hell!

Tell your father they turned him down.

You're just in time for the mail.

Hell with the mail.

The boss wants this telegram sent

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